Padmé's Grandson
by supernaturallymarvelous
Summary: Ben Solo had tried so hard for so long to be like his grandfather, but instead he had been like his grandmother. Just a little ficlet I threw together. Anakin/Padmé and Ben/Rey. MAJOR SPOILERS FOR RISE OF SKYWALKER.


**A/N: I literally haven't written fanfiction I wanted to publish in years, but I had this flickering idea, and I wrote it all out. So I thought, might as well publish it.**

**MAJOR SPOILERS FOR RISE OF SKYWALKER!**

_19 BBY, Polis Massa_

"Medically she's completely healthy. For reasons we can't explain, we are losing her," the medical droid said. Obi-Wan was shocked as he comprehended what the droid was saying.

"She's dying?" he asked, unable to imagine a world without Padmé Amidala fighting for the galaxy.

"We don't know why. She has lost the will to live," the droid says, "We need to operate quickly if we are to save the babies."

"Babies?" Bail Organa asked from beside Obi-Wan.

"She's carrying twins," the droid told them. Twins. Anakin and Padmé were having twins. Tragically, neither of their parents would be around to see them grow up. Obi-Wan swore to himself and to the Force that he would do everything to protect them, should they survive.

_The Exact Same Time, Coruscant_

Darth Sidious, Emperor Sheev Palpatine as he was known to the public watched the droids rush around, working to save his apprentice. As they did, he drew on the Force, using techniques he had known for a very long time to siphon life energy from someone whose presence in the Force he knew quite well. Padmé Amidala would die, even as the shell of the man that had been her husband would live. He channeled the life force he was stealing from Padmé to Anakin Skywalker lying helplessly on the table before him. Padmé's final act would be to save her husband's life. If Palpatine was lucky, their child would die with her.

_Polis Massa_

Padmé brought her babies into the world with cries of pain that broke Obi-Wan's heart.

"Luke," she said, smiling weakly. "Oh, Luke." She cried out in agony. Mere moments later, her pain once again subsided.

"It's a girl," he told her, trying to smile for her sake.

"Leia," she named her daughter, her life force almost gone from Obi-Wan's senses. He couldn't understand how she was being drained of her so quickly of her Force energy.

"Obi-Wan?" Padmé said. He gave her his full attention, knowing these were her last moments. "There's good in him...I know...I know there's still-" she was cut off. Obi-Wan knew it was coming, but her sudden departing in the Force nearly took his breath away. Padmé Amidala, the former Queen of Naboo, former Senator to the Republic, secret wife of Anakin Skywalker, a strong and willful fighter for people and for democracy, and now mother to Luke and Leia, was gone.

Though neither Obi-Wan nor Padmé knew it, Darth Vader lived because of Padmé's death. Emperor Palpatine could have never foreseen what that choice would bring him to 54 years later.

_35 ABY, Exegol_

Ben Solo grabbed the edge of the cliff, barely pulling himself up again. He couldn't feel her any more. He couldn't feel Rey. He had never felt the full strength of the Jedi like he had felt them when Rey had risen to face her grandfather in one final act. He threw himself over the ledge, finally seeing her lying prone on the floor. She was gone. He knew that. He also knew that he could never allow it. She deserved to live. She deserved to be the hero, to train a new generation of Jedi. He had hurt so many and killed so many more. He did not deserve to be the survivor of this battle. He stumbled, barely able to walk, but desperate to reach her. He awkwardly hefted her into his arms, ready to sob, ready to give up. But just as he had that thought, he heard his uncle's voice in his head.

"Focus, Ben. Focus," Luke Skywalker's voice said.

Ben took a deep breath, knowing his uncle was right. He drew on the Force, doing the same as she had done for him after she had put his own lightsaber through him. He gave her some of his life force. But he had little left to give. And she needed all of it. He would give his life force so that she could live. She had seen the good in him. She had brought him back to the light, and he would give everything he could for her. Everything. She woke just as he felt his own strength fading. She was too surprised to notice that he was about to leave her. She smiled.

"Ben," she said. Then she kissed him. And he kissed back. When they pulled apart he smiled, for the first time in a long time, realizing with surprise that he was truly happy. And just as that realization hit him, he felt the end. He felt the last of his energy give way. He saw everything in those last few seconds. He saw his mother, his father, and his uncle. He saw all of the horrible things he had done. And he saw her. He saw her eyes widen as she realized what was happening. He saw her as she had been when he had first found her, terrified of him, a monster hunting her in the jungle. He saw her stand beside him against her grandfather, stronger than any Jedi before her, and now the last Jedi after he was gone. He saw her eyes fill with fear for a split second. He felt her try to give his life force back, but he knew it was too late. He slipped away looking at her and happier than he could ever remember being.

Ben Solo had tried so hard for so long to be like his grandfather, but instead he had been his grandmother, giving his life force to the one he loved so that she could live.

Palpatine could have never foreseen that when he saved his young apprentice all of those years ago.


End file.
